1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a video processing technology, in particular, to a apparatus for transforming 2D images and videos into 3D images and videos and the method thereof
2. Description of Related Art
The commonly used 3D image generating technology, like DIBR (Depth Image Based Rendering), utilizes the image depth information and the geometric relations of a stereo camera (Toe-in or Off-axis are utilized in the camera setup), to change the position of the object in the image, thus generating a group of virtual stereoscopic images with parallax.
After generating the stereoscopic image, the moved position of the object creates the problem of vacant pixels (holes), which need to be filled. Most image inpainting methods progressively fill the holes, but the image orientation and similarity etc., make it hard to compute the image and are thus extremely time consuming; moreover to timely generate a 3D image, usually the hole is directly filled with the same pixel data as the neighboring pixel. The image filling algorithm needs to continuously update the priority of the image filling, therefore the computational requirements are extremely high, and the computational method is constantly changing, and is unsuitable for hardware design, and the computational method therefore has to overcome these drawbacks through more fixed criteria.
There are more and more 3D stereoscopic products, but still no way of popularizing the technology for the average user; because it's difficult to realize a 3D stereoscopic image and the required filming devices are also extremely expensive, most television companies are unable to provide 3D stereoscopic programming, therefore most current use of this technology is restricted to gaming devices and the movie industry. Current 3D stereoscopic image generating technologies rely on processing methods in software, and the current 3D stereoscopic images in the abovementioned gaming devices and movies therefore require computers, with no way to achieve the goal of real time operation and application. If the goal of real-time stereoscopic image generation is to be achieved, it's necessary to use the software in conjunction with a high priced and high speed computing device, like CUDA (Computer Unified Device Architecture) to complete this goal. The cost however is too high and therefore it's impractical and not beneficial.
Therefore, all kinds of methods are continuously being developed to increase the image processing speed, but processing still occupies a large part of the operation. The time required for image inpainting however, is relatively short, as the image inpainting process simply fills the hole with the neighboring pixel information. As the pixels are small, the effect of this image inpainting process is barely satisfactory, but if the pixels are bigger, the effects of the image inpainting process will not be ideal. At the same time, the processing priority actions of the image inpainting algorithm are not easily designed on the hardware circuit, as it needs to keep updating the filling priority values, as every pixel needing to be filled has to be continuously updated, which is extremely time consuming.
Because of the above mentioned defects of the prior art, the applicant invented the apparatus (apparatus for generating a real-time stereoscopic image and method thereof) wishing to overcome the disorderly computing process, being solely realized through hardware, by simplifying the steps of the hole filling algorithm, thereby achieving a real-time stereoscopic 3D image generated from a 2D image, at the same time developing a chip, possessing low cost and a way to display real time images, to improve on the above mentioned shortcomings in use and method.